Legal Help Desk

Iowa voted to retain a state supreme court justice who ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Lambda Legal's 2009 case. Justice David Wiggins survived a campaign by marriage equality opponents to recall him.

Opponents of marriage equality including Bob Vander Plaats, the leader of the Iowans For Freedom committee, had vowed to remove Wiggins because he joined six other justices in the unanimous ruling for same-sex marriage in 2009. Their efforts, including a bus tour, attracted support from prominent national Republicans including former presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

Three judges were recalled in 2010 after the National Organization for Marriage and other groups waged a campaign against them. The final three judges who joined the ruling will face a retention vote in 2016.

The full article is here. More information about Lambda Legal's landmark victory in Iowa is here.